Providing digital data services as electrical signals and radio-frequency (RF) communications over optical fiber in distributed communications systems, and related components and methods

ABSTRACT

Distributed communications systems providing and supporting radio frequency (RF) communication services and digital data services, and related components and methods are disclosed. The RF communication services can be distributed over optical fiber to client devices, such as remote units for example. Power can also be distributed over electrical medium that is provided to distribute digital data services, if desired, to provide power to remote communications devices and/or client devices coupled to the remote communications devices for operation. In this manner, as an example, the same electrical medium used to transport digital data signals in the distributed antenna system can also be employed to provide power to the remote communications devices and/or client devices coupled to the remote communications devices. Power may be injected and switched from two or more power sources over selected electrical medium to distribute power for power-consuming components supporting RF communications services and digital data services.

PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/098,941, filed Apr. 14, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/967,426, filed Aug. 15, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.9,325,429, which is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/US12/25337, filed Feb. 16, 2012, which claims the benefit ofpriority U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/444,922, filed Feb. 21,2011, the applications being incorporated herein by reference.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to International ApplicationPCT/US2011/034738, filed May 2, 2011, and to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/892,424, filed on Sep. 28, 2010, entitled “Providing DigitalData Services in Optical Fiber-based Distributed Radio Frequency (RF)Communications Systems, and Related Components and Methods,” each ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

This application is also related to International ApplicationPCT/US11/34725, filed May 2, 2011, and to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/025,719, filed Feb. 11, 2011, entitled “Digital Data Servicesand/or Power Distribution in Optical Fiber-Based DistributedCommunications Systems Providing Digital Data and Radio Frequency (RF)Communications Services, and Related Components and Methods.”

This application is also related to International Application.PCT/US11/34733, filed on May 2, 2011, entitled “Optical Fiber-basedDistributed Communications Systems, and Related Components and Methods,”which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

This application is also related to International ApplicationPCT/US11/55858, filed Oct. 12, 2011, entitled “Local Power ManagementFor Remote Antenna Units In Distributed Antenna Systems,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

This application is also related to International ApplicationPCT/US11/55861, filed Oct. 12, 2011, entitled “Remote Power ManagementFor Remote Antenna Units In Distributed Antenna Systems,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field of the Disclosure

The technology of the disclosure relates to distributing digital datacommunications and radio-frequency (RF) communications over opticalfiber in distributed antenna systems.

Technical Background

Wireless communication is rapidly growing, with ever-increasing demandsfor high-speed mobile data communication. As an example, so-called“wireless fidelity” or “WiFi” systems and wireless local area networks(WLANs) are being deployed in many different types of areas (e.g.,coffee shops, airports, libraries, etc.). Distributed antenna systemscommunicate with wireless devices called “clients,” which must residewithin the wireless range or “cell coverage area” in order tocommunicate with an access point device.

One approach to deploying a distributed antenna system involves the useof radio frequency (RF) antenna coverage areas, also referred to as“antenna coverage areas.” Antenna coverage areas can have a radius inthe range from a few meters up to twenty meters as an example. Combininga number of access point devices creates an array of antenna coverageareas. Because the antenna coverage areas each cover small areas, thereare typically only a few users (clients) per antenna coverage area. Thisallows for minimizing the amount of RF bandwidth shared among thewireless system users. It may be desirable to provide antenna coverageareas in a building or other facility to provide distributed antennasystem access to clients within the building or facility. However, itmay be desirable to employ optical fiber to distribute communicationsignals. Benefits of optical fiber include increased bandwidth.

One type of distributed antenna system for creating antenna coverageareas, called “Radio-over-Fiber” or “RoF,” utilizes RF signals sent overoptical fibers. Such systems can include a head-end station opticallycoupled to a plurality of remote antenna units that each providesantenna coverage areas. The remote antenna units can each include RFtransceivers coupled to an antenna to transmit RF signals wirelessly,wherein the remote antenna units are coupled to the head-end station viaoptical fiber links. The RF transceivers in the remote antenna units aretransparent to the RF signals. The remote antenna units convert incomingoptical RF signals from an optical fiber downlink to electrical RFsignals via optical-to-electrical (O/E) converters, which are thenpassed to the RF transceiver. The RF transceiver converts the electricalRF signals to electromagnetic signals via antennas coupled to the RFtransceiver provided in the remote antenna units. The antennas alsoreceive electromagnetic signals (i.e., electromagnetic radiation) fromclients in the antenna coverage area and convert them to electrical RFsignals (i.e., electrical RF signals in wire). The remote antenna unitsthen convert the electrical RF signals to optical RF signals viaelectrical-to-optical (E/O) converters. The optical RF signals are thensent over an optical fiber uplink to the head-end station.

SUMMARY OF THE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed in the detailed description include distributedcommunication systems that provide and support both radio frequency (RF)communication services and digital data services. The RF communicationservices can also be distributed over optical fiber to client devices,such as remote communications units for example. The remotecommunications units may support wireless, wired, or both wireless andwired communications services. The digital data services can bedistributed over electrical signals to client devices, such as remotecommunications units for example. For example, non-limiting examples ofdigital data services include Ethernet, WLAN, Worldwide Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMax), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), and Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Power canalso be distributed over an electrical medium that is provided todistribute digital data services, if desired, to provide power to remotecommunications devices and/or client devices coupled to the remotecommunications devices for operation. In this manner, as an example, thesame electrical medium used to transport digital data signals in thedistributed communication system can also be employed to provide powerto the remote communications devices and/or client devices coupled tothe remote communications devices. Power may be injected and switchedfrom two or more power sources over selected electrical medium todistribute power for power-consuming components supporting both RFcommunications services and digital data services.

In this regard, in one embodiment, a distributed communication systemhaving a power unit is provided. The power unit comprises a plurality ofelectrical input links each configured to convey digital data signalsand power signals. The power unit further comprises at least oneelectrical communications output configured to distribute the digitaldata signals to at least one communications interface of at least oneremote unit. The power unit further comprises at least one electricalpower output configured to distribute the power signals to at least onepower interface of the remote unit and a circuit configured to coupleelectrically the electrical input link among the plurality of electricalinput links containing power signals to at least one electrical poweroutput.

In another embodiment, a method for distributing power in a distributedcommunication system using a power unit is provided. The methodcomprises conveying convey digital data signals and power signalsthrough a plurality of electrical input links and distributing thedigital data signals to at least one communications interface of atleast one remote unit through at least one electrical communicationsoutput. The method further comprises distributing the power signals toat least one power interface of the at least one remote unit through atleast one electrical power output; and electrically coupling, with acircuit, an electrical input link among the plurality of electricalinput links containing power signals to at least one electrical poweroutput.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing theembodiments as described herein, including the detailed description thatfollows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description present embodiments, and are intendedto provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature andcharacter of the disclosure. The accompanying drawings are included toprovide a further understanding, and are incorporated into andconstitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate variousembodiments, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples and operation of the concepts disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary optical fiber-baseddistributed antenna system;

FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic diagram of exemplary head-endequipment and a remote antenna unit (RAU) that can be deployed in theoptical fiber-based distributed antenna system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially schematic cut-away diagram of an exemplarybuilding infrastructure in which the optical fiber-based distributedantenna system in FIG. 1 can be employed;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of providingdigital data services as electrical signals and radio frequency (RF)communication services over optical fiber to RAUs or other remotecommunications devices in an optical fiber-based distributed antennasystem;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary building infrastructure inwhich digital data services and RF communication services are providedin an optical fiber-based distributed antenna system;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary RAU and/or access unit(AU) that can be employed in an optical fiber-based distributed antennasystem providing exemplary digital data services and RF communicationservices;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a cable containing opticalfiber for distributing optical RF signals for RF communication servicesand an electrical medium for distribution electrical digital signals fordigital data services and power to RAUs or other remote communicationsdevices;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary schematic diagram of distributing digital dataservices and power carried over an electrical medium carrying digitalsignals for providing power to RAUs or other remote communicationsdevices;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of digitaldata services as electrical signals and RF communication services overoptical fiber to RAUs or other remote communications devices in anoptical fiber-based distributed antenna system;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of exemplary head-end equipment toprovide RF communication services over optical fiber to RAUs or otherremote communications devices in an optical fiber-based distributedantenna system;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary distributed antennasystem with alternative equipment to provide RF communication servicesover optical fiber and digital data services as electrical signals toRAUs or other remote communications devices in an optical fiber-baseddistributed antenna system;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of providing digital data services aselectrical signals and RF communication services over optical fiber toRAUs or other remote communications devices in the optical fiber-baseddistributed antenna system of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a generalized representation of anexemplary computer system that can be included in any of the modulesprovided in the exemplary distributed antenna systems and/or theircomponents described herein, wherein the exemplary computer system isadapted to execute instructions from an exemplary computer-readablemedium.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which some, butnot all embodiments are shown. Indeed, the concepts may be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limiting herein;rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure willsatisfy applicable legal requirements. Whenever possible, like referencenumbers will be used to refer to like components or parts.

Embodiments disclosed in the detailed description include distributedantenna systems that provide and support both radio frequency (RF)communication services and digital data services. The RF communicationservices can also be distributed over optical fiber to client devices,such as remote communications units for example. The remotecommunications units may support wireless, wired, or both wireless andwired communications services. The digital data services can bedistributed over electrical signals to client devices, such as remotecommunications units for example. For example, non-limiting examples ofdigital data services include Ethernet, WLAN, Worldwide Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMax), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), and Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Power canalso be distributed over an electrical medium that is provided todistribute digital data services, if desired, to provide power to remotecommunications devices and/or client devices coupled to the remotecommunications devices for operation. In this manner, as an example, thesame electrical medium used to transport digital data signals in thedistributed antenna system can also be employed to provide power to theremote communications devices and/or client devices coupled to theremote communications devices. Power may be injected and switched fromtwo or more power sources over selected electrical medium to distributepower for power-consuming components supporting both RF communicationsservices and digital data services.

Before discussing examples of distributed antenna systems thatdistribute digital data services as electrical signals and RFcommunication services as optical signals, an exemplary opticalfiber-based distributed antenna system that provides RF communicationservices without providing digital data services is first described withregard to FIGS. 1-3. Various embodiments of additionally providingdigital data services in conjunction with RF communication services inoptical fiber-based distributed antenna systems starts at FIG. 4.

In this regard, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of anoptical fiber-based distributed antenna system. In this embodiment, thesystem is an optical fiber-based distributed antenna system 10 that isconfigured to create one or more antenna coverage areas for establishingcommunications with wireless client devices located in the RF range ofthe antenna coverage areas. The optical fiber-based distributed antennasystem 10 provides RF communication services (e.g., cellular services).In this embodiment, the optical fiber-based distributed antenna system10 includes head-end equipment (HEE) 12 such as a head-end unit (HEU),one or more remote antenna units (RAUs) 14, and an optical fiber 16 thatoptically couples HEE 12 to the RAU 14. The RAU 14 is a type of remotecommunications unit. In general, a remote communications unit cansupport either wireless communications, wired communications, or both.The RAU 14 can support wireless communications and may also supportwired communications. The HEE 12 is configured to receive communicationsover downlink electrical RF signals 18D from a source or sources, suchas a network or carrier as examples, and provide such communications tothe RAU 14. The HEE 12 is also configured to return communicationsreceived from the RAU 14, via uplink electrical RF signals 18U, back tothe source or sources. In this regard in this embodiment, the opticalfiber 16 includes at least one downlink optical fiber 16D to carrysignals communicated from the HEE 12 to the RAU 14 and at least oneuplink optical fiber 16U to carry signals communicated from the RAU 14back to the HEE 12. One downlink optical fiber 16D and one uplinkoptical fiber 16U could be provided to support multiple channels eachusing wave-division multiplexing (WDM), as discussed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/892,424, entitled “Providing Digital DataServices in Optical Fiber-based Distributed Radio Frequency (RF)Communications Systems, And Related Components and Methods,”incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The optical fiber-based distributed antenna system 10 has an antennacoverage area 20 that can be disposed about the RAU 14. The antennacoverage area 20 of the RAU 14 forms an RF coverage area 21. The HEE 12is adapted to perform or to facilitate any one of a number ofRadio-over-Fiber (RoF) applications, such as RF identification (RFID),wireless local-area network (WLAN) communication, or cellular phoneservice. Shown within the antenna coverage area 20 is a client device 24in the form of a mobile device as an example, which may be a cellulartelephone as an example. The client device 24 can be any device that iscapable of receiving RF communication signals. The client device 24includes an antenna 26 (e.g., a wireless card) adapted to receive and/orsend electromagnetic RF signals.

With continuing reference to FIG. 1, to communicate the electrical RFsignals over the downlink optical fiber 16D to the RAU 14, to in turn becommunicated to the client device 24 in the antenna coverage area 20formed by the RAU 14, the HEE 12 includes an electrical-to-optical (E/O)converter 28. The E/O converter 28 converts the downlink electrical RFsignals 18D to downlink optical RF signals 22D to be communicated overthe downlink optical fiber 16D. The RAU 14 includes anoptical-to-electrical (O/E) converter 30 to convert received downlinkoptical RF signals 22D back to electrical RF signals to be communicatedwirelessly through an antenna 32 of the RAU 14 to client devices 24located in the antenna coverage area 20.

Similarly, the antenna 32 is also configured to receive wireless RFcommunications from client devices 24 in the antenna coverage area 20.In this regard, the antenna 32 receives wireless RF communications fromclient devices 24 and communicates electrical RF signals representingthe wireless RF communications to an E/O converter 34 in the RAU 14. TheE/O converter 34 converts the electrical RF signals into uplink opticalRF signals 22U to be communicated over the uplink optical fiber 16U. AnO/E converter 36 provided in the HEE 12 converts the uplink optical RFsignals 22U into uplink electrical RF signals, which can then becommunicated as uplink electrical RF signals 18U back to a network orother source. The HEE 12 in this embodiment is not able to distinguishthe location of the client devices 24 in this embodiment. The clientdevice 24 could be in the range of any antenna coverage area 20 formedby an RAU 14.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic diagram of the exemplary opticalfiber-based distributed antenna system of FIG. 1 that provideselectrical RF service signals for a particular RF service orapplication. In an exemplary embodiment, the HEE 12 includes a serviceunit 37 that provides electrical RF service signals by passing (orconditioning and then passing) such signals from one or more outsidenetworks 38 via a network link 39. In a particular example embodiment,this includes providing Cellular signal distribution in the frequencyrange from 400 MHz to 2.7 GigaHertz (GHz). Any other electrical RFsignal frequencies are possible. In another exemplary embodiment, theservice unit 37 provides electrical RF service signals by generating thesignals directly. In another exemplary embodiment, the service unit 37coordinates the delivery of the electrical RF service signals betweenclient devices 24 within the antenna coverage area 20.

With continuing reference to FIG. 2, the service unit 37 is electricallycoupled to the E/O converter 28 that receives the downlink electrical RFsignals 18D from the service unit 37 and converts them to correspondingdownlink optical RF signals 22D. In an exemplary embodiment, the E/Oconverter 28 includes a laser suitable for delivering sufficient dynamicrange for the RoF applications described herein, and optionally includesa laser driver/amplifier electrically coupled to the laser. Examples ofsuitable lasers for the E/O converter 28 include, but are not limitedto, laser diodes, distributed feedback (DFB) lasers, Fabry-Perot (FP)lasers, and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs).

With continuing reference to FIG. 2, the HEE 12 also includes the O/Econverter 36, which is electrically coupled to the service unit 37. TheO/E converter 36 receives the uplink optical RF signals 22U and convertsthem to corresponding uplink electrical RF signals 18U. In an exampleembodiment, the O/E converter 36 is a photodetector, or a photodetectorelectrically coupled to a linear amplifier. The E/O converter 28 and theO/E converter 36 constitute a “converter pair” 35, as illustrated inFIG. 2.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the service unit 37 in theHEE 12 can include an RF signal conditioner unit 40 for conditioning thedownlink electrical RF signals 18D and the uplink electrical RF signals18U, respectively. The service unit 37 can include a digital signalprocessing unit (“digital signal processor”) 42 for providing to the RFsignal conditioner unit 40 an electrical signal that is modulated ontoan RF carrier to generate a desired downlink electrical RF signal 18D.The digital signal processor 42 is also configured to process ademodulation signal provided by the demodulation of the uplinkelectrical RF signal 18U by the RF signal conditioner unit 40. The HEE12 can also include an optional central processing unit (CPU) 44 forprocessing data and otherwise performing logic and computing operations,and a memory unit 46 for storing data, such as data to be transmittedover a WLAN or other network for example.

With continuing reference to FIG. 2, the RAU 14 also includes aconverter pair 48 comprising the O/E converter 30 and the E/O converter34. The O/E converter 30 converts the received downlink optical RFsignals 22D from the HEE 12 back into downlink electrical RF signals50D. The E/O converter 34 converts uplink electrical RF signals 50Ureceived from the client device 24 into the uplink optical RF signals22U to be communicated to the HEE 12. The O/E converter 30 and the E/Oconverter 34 are electrically coupled to the antenna 32 via an RFsignal-directing element 52, such as a circulator for example. The RFsignal-directing element 52 serves to direct the downlink electrical RFsignals 50D and the uplink electrical RF signals 50U, as discussedbelow. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the antenna 32 caninclude any type of antenna, including but not limited to one or morepatch antennas, such as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/504,999, filed Aug. 16, 2006 entitled “Radio-over-Fiber TransponderWith A Dual-Band Patch Antenna System,” and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/451,553, filed Jun. 12, 2006 entitled “Centralized OpticalFiber-Based Wireless Picocellular Systems and Methods,” both of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

With continuing reference to FIG. 2, the optical fiber-based distributedantenna system 10 also includes a power supply 54 that provides anelectrical power signal 56. The power supply 54 is electrically coupledto the HEE 12 for powering the power-consuming elements therein. In anexemplary embodiment, an electrical power line 58 runs through the HEE12 and over to the RAU 14 to power the O/E converter 30 and the E/Oconverter 34 in the converter pair 48, the optional RF signal-directingelement 52 (unless the RF signal-directing element 52 is a passivedevice such as a circulator for example), and any other power-consumingelements provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the electrical power line58 includes two wires 60 and 62 that carry a single voltage and areelectrically coupled to a DC power converter 64 at the RAU 14. The DCpower converter 64 is electrically coupled to the O/E converter 30 andthe E/O converter 34 in the converter pair 48, and changes the voltageor levels of the electrical power signal 56 to the power level(s)required by the power-consuming components in the RAU 14. In anexemplary embodiment, the DC power converter 64 is either a DC/DC powerconverter or an AC/DC power converter, depending on the type ofelectrical power signal 56 carried by the electrical power line 58. Inanother example embodiment, the electrical power line 58 (dashed line)runs directly from the power supply 54 to the RAU 14 rather than from orthrough the HEE 12. In another example embodiment, the electrical powerline 58 includes more than two wires and may carry multiple voltages.

To provide further exemplary illustration of how an optical fiber-baseddistributed antenna system can be deployed indoors, FIG. 3 is provided.FIG. 3 is a partially schematic cut-away diagram of a buildinginfrastructure 70 employing an optical fiber-based distributed antennasystem. The system may be the optical fiber-based distributed antennasystem 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The building infrastructure 70 generallyrepresents any type of building in which the optical fiber-baseddistributed antenna system 10 can be deployed. As previously discussedwith regard to FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical fiber-based distributedantenna system 10 incorporates the HEE 12 to provide various types ofcommunication services to coverage areas within the buildinginfrastructure 70, as an example. For example, as discussed in moredetail below, the optical fiber-based distributed antenna system 10 inthis embodiment is configured to receive wireless RF signals and convertthe RF signals into RoF signals to be communicated over the opticalfiber 16 to multiple RAUs 14. The optical fiber-based distributedantenna system 10 in this embodiment can be, for example, an indoordistributed antenna system (IDAS) to provide wireless service inside thebuilding infrastructure 70. These wireless signals can include cellularservice, wireless services such as RFID tracking, Wireless Fidelity(WiFi), local area network (LAN), WLAN, public safety, wireless buildingautomations, and combinations thereof, as examples.

With continuing reference to FIG. 3, the building infrastructure 70 inthis embodiment includes a first (ground) floor 72, a second floor 74,and a third floor 76. The floors 72, 74, 76 are serviced by the HEE 12through a main distribution frame 78 to provide antenna coverage areas80 in the building infrastructure 70. Only the ceilings of the floors72, 74, 76 are shown in FIG. 3 for simplicity of illustration. In theexample embodiment, a main cable 82 has a number of different sectionsthat facilitate the placement of a large number of RAUs 14 in thebuilding infrastructure 70. Each RAU 14 in turn services its owncoverage area in the antenna coverage areas 80. The main cable 82 caninclude, for example, a riser cable 84 that carries all of the downlinkand uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U to and from the HEE 12. The risercable 84 may be routed through an interconnect unit (ICU) 85. The ICU 85may be provided as part of or separate from the power supply 54 in FIG.2. The ICU 85 may also be configured to provide power to the RAUs 14 viathe electrical power line 58, as illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussedabove, provided inside an array cable 87, or tail cable or home-runtether cable as other examples, and distributed with the downlink anduplink optical fibers 16D, 16U to the RAUs 14. The main cable 82 caninclude one or more multi-cable (MC) connectors adapted to connectselect downlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U, along with anelectrical power line, to a number of optical fiber cables 86.

The main cable 82 enables multiple optical fiber cables 86 to bedistributed throughout the building infrastructure 70 (e.g., fixed tothe ceilings or other support surfaces of each floor 72, 74, 76) toprovide the antenna coverage areas 80 for the first, second, and thirdfloors 72, 74, and 76. In an example embodiment, the HEE 12 is locatedwithin the building infrastructure 70 (e.g., in a closet or controlroom), while in another example embodiment, the HEE 12 may be locatedoutside of the building infrastructure 70 at a remote location. A basetransceiver station (BTS) 88, which may be provided by a second partysuch as a cellular service provider, is connected to the HEE 12, and canbe co-located or located remotely from the HEE 12. A BTS is any stationor signal source that provides an input signal to the HEE 12 and canreceive a return signal from the HEE 12. In a typical cellular system,for example, a plurality of BTSs are deployed at a plurality of remotelocations to provide wireless telephone coverage. Each BTS serves acorresponding cell and when a mobile client device enters the cell, theBTS communicates with the mobile client device. Each BTS can include atleast one radio transceiver for enabling communication with one or moresubscriber units operating within the associated cell. As anotherexample, wireless repeaters or bi-directional amplifiers could also beused to serve a corresponding cell in lieu of a BTS. Alternatively,radio input could be provided by a repeater, picocell or femtocell asother examples.

The optical fiber-based distributed antenna system 10 in FIGS. 1-3 anddescribed above provides point-to-point communications between the HEE12 and the RAU 14. A multi-point architecture is also possible as well.With regard to FIGS. 1-3, each RAU 14 communicates with the HEE 12 overa distinct downlink and uplink optical fiber pair to provide thepoint-to-point communications. Whenever an RAU 14 is installed in theoptical fiber-based distributed antenna system 10, the RAU 14 isconnected to a distinct downlink and uplink optical fiber pair connectedto the HEE 12. The downlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U may beprovided in a fiber optic cable. Multiple downlink and uplink opticalfiber pairs can be provided in a fiber optic cable to service multipleRAUs 14 from a common fiber optic cable. For example, with reference toFIG. 3, RAUs 14 installed on a given floor 72, 74, or 76 may be servicedfrom the same optical fiber 16. In this regard, the optical fiber 16 mayhave multiple nodes where distinct downlink and uplink optical fiberpairs can be connected to a given RAU 14. One downlink optical fiber 16Dcould be provided to support multiple channels each usingwavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), as discussed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/892,424 entitled “Providing Digital DataServices in Optical Fiber-based Distributed Radio Frequency (RF)Communications Systems, And Related Components and Methods,”incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Other options for WDMand frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) are also disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/892,424, any of which can be employed inany of the embodiments disclosed herein.

The HEE 12 may be configured to support any frequencies desired,including but not limited to US FCC and Industry Canada frequencies(824-849 MHz on uplink and 869-894 MHz on downlink), US FCC and IndustryCanada frequencies (1850-1915 MHz on uplink and 1930-1995 MHz ondownlink), US FCC and Industry Canada frequencies (1710-1755 MHz onuplink and 2110-2155 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (698-716 MHzand 776-787 MHz on uplink and 728-746 MHz on downlink), EU R & TTEfrequencies (880-915 MHz on uplink and 925-960 MHz on downlink), EU R &TTE frequencies (1710-1785 MHz on uplink and 1805-1880 MHz on downlink),EU R & TTE frequencies (1920-1980 MHz on uplink and 2110-2170 MHz ondownlink), US FCC frequencies (806-824 MHz on uplink and 851-869 MHz ondownlink), US FCC frequencies (896-901 MHz on uplink and 929-941 MHz ondownlink), US FCC frequencies (793-805 MHz on uplink and 763-775 MHz ondownlink), and US FCC frequencies (2495-2690 MHz on uplink anddownlink).

It may be desirable to provide both digital data services and RFcommunication services for client devices. For example, it may bedesirable to provide digital data services and RF communication servicesin the building infrastructure 70 to client devices located therein.Wired and wireless devices may be located in the building infrastructure70 that are configured to access digital data services. Examples ofdigital data services include, but are not limited to, Ethernet, WLAN,Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), WirelessFidelity (WiFi), Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), and Long Term Evolution(LTE), etc. Ethernet standards could be supported, including but notlimited to 100 Megabits per second (Mbs) (i.e., fast Ethernet) orGigabit (Gb) Ethernet, or ten Gigabit (10G) Ethernet. Examples ofdigital data devices include, but are not limited to, wired and wirelessservers, wireless access points (WAPs), gateways, desktop computers,hubs, switches, remote radio heads (RRHs), baseband units (BBUs), andfemtocells. A separate digital data services network can be provided toprovide digital data services to digital data devices.

In this regard, the optical-fiber based distributed antenna system 10 inFIGS. 1-3 can be modified to provide such digital data services overoptical fiber in the optical fiber-based distributed antenna system 10in FIGS. 1-3. The RF communication services and digital data servicescan be distributed over optical fiber to client devices, such as RAUsfor example. Digital data services can be distributed over optical fiberseparate from the optical fiber distributing RF communication services.Alternatively, digital data services can be both distributed over commonoptical fiber with RF communication services in an optical fiber-baseddistributed antenna system. For example, digital data services can bedistributed over common optical fiber with RF communication services atdifferent wavelengths through WDM and/or at different frequenciesthrough FDM. Examples of providing digital data services in anoptical-fiber based distributed antenna system are disclosed inco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/025,719, 61/330,385,61/393,177, 61/330,386, 12/892,424, all of which are incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties.

However, it may be desired to provide digital data services in adistributed antenna system as electrical signals over an electricalcommunication medium instead of optical signals communicated overoptical fiber. In this regard, it would not be required to convert thedigital data services for downlink services from electrical signals tooptical signals for distribution over optical fiber to RAUs, where theoptical signals for the digital data services are converted back toelectrical signals, and vice versa for uplink distribution. For example,it may be more desirable to distribute the digital data services over anelectrical signal medium. For example, an installation site for adistributed antenna system may already include digital data servicesdistributed over an existing electrical signal medium. When integratingor adding RF communication services to be distributed over opticalfiber, only optical fiber for the RF communication services would needto be deployed. The existing electrical signal medium could be used orreused when integrating the distribution of digital data services and RFcommunication services in the distributed antenna system. In thisregard, a distributed antenna system can be provided to provide digitaldata services and RF communication services. Such a distributed antennasystem could be provided by modifying or altering the optical-fiberbased distributed antenna system 10 in FIGS. 1-3 if desired, as anexample. The RF communication services and digital data services can bedistributed over optical fiber to client devices, such as RAUs forexample. Digital data services can be distributed over an electricalsignal medium separate from the optical fiber distributing the RFcommunication services.

In this regard in one embodiment, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of anexemplary embodiment of providing digital data services over electricalsignals and RF communication services over optical fiber to RAUs in adistributed antenna system 90. The distributed antenna system 90includes some optical communication components provided in the opticalfiber-based distributed antenna system 10 of FIGS. 1-3 in thisembodiment. These common components are illustrated in FIG. 4 withcommon element numbers with FIGS. 1-3. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the HEE12 is provided. The HEE 12 receives the downlink electrical RF signals18D from the BTS 88. As previously discussed, the HEE 12 converts thedownlink electrical RF signals 18D to downlink optical RF signals 22D tobe distributed to the RAUs 14. The HEE 12 is also configured to convertthe uplink optical RF signals 22U received from the RAUs 14 into uplinkelectrical RF signals 18U to be provided to the BTS 88 and on to anetwork 93 connected to the BTS 88. A patch panel 92 may be provided toreceive the downlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U configured tocarry the downlink and uplink optical RF signals 22D, 22U. The downlinkand uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U may be bundled together in one ormore riser cables 84 and provided to one or more ICUs 85, as previouslydiscussed and illustrated in FIG. 3.

To provide digital data services in the distributed antenna system 90 inthis embodiment, a digital data service controller 94 (also referred toas “DDS controller” or “DDSC”) is provided. The DDS controller 94 is acontroller or other device configured to provide digital data servicesover a communications link, interface, or other communications channelor line, which may be either wired, wireless, or a combination of both.In this embodiment, the digital data services provided to thedistributed antenna system 90 are provided from a DDS switch 96 in theform of electrical digital signals communicated over digital dataservices lines 99. In this embodiment, the DDS controller 94 does notcontain a media converter since the electrical signals of the digitaldata services are not converted to optical signals in this embodiment.The DDS controller 94 may include a microprocessor, microcontroller, ordedicated circuitry. Alternatively, the DDS controller 94 may simplyinclude a patch panel or module to allow digital data serviceconnections from the DDS switch 96 to the DDS controller 94.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4, the DDS controller 94 in thisembodiment is configured to provide downlink electrical digital signals(or downlink electrical digital data services signals) 98D from the DDSswitch 96 over the data services lines 99 from the digital data servicesswitch 96 into downlink electrical digital signals (or downlinkelectrical digital data services signals) 100D that can be communicatedover a downlink electrical medium 102D to RAUs 14. In one embodiment,the downlink electrical medium 102D may be an electrical medium Ethernetcable, such as Category 5 (CAT5), Category 5e (CAT5e), Category 6(CAT6), and Category 7 (CAT7) cable as non-limiting examples, whichcontains copper or other metal or metal alloy wire pairs. The DDScontroller 94 is also configured to receive uplink electrical digitalsignals 100U from the RAUs 14 via the uplink electrical medium 102U. Inthis manner, the digital data services can be provided over theelectrical medium 102D, 102U separate from the optical fibers 16D, 16Uas part of the distributed antenna system 90 to provide digital dataservices in addition to RF communication services. In this regard asdiscussed below, client devices located at the RAUs 14 can access thesedigital data services and/or RF communication services depending ontheir configuration.

Providing digital data services over electrical medium may beparticularly desirable or useful if the electrical medium is alreadypresent before the installation of the distributed antenna system. Thedistance of the electrical medium needs to be sufficient to support therequired standards of the electrical digital signals. For example,Category X (CATx) electrical medium cable may be rated to support datatransmission of approximately 1 Gbps up to 100 meters. If thedistributed antenna system can support the distance limitations of theelectrical medium, the distributed antenna system can employ theelectrical medium to distribute digital data services as opposed toanother medium, such as optical fiber for example. However, by providingoptical fiber as the distribution medium for the RF communicationservices, enhanced services may be provided for RF communicationservices, including but not limited to increased distribution distancesand bandwidths, low noise, and WDM, as examples.

For example, FIG. 5 illustrates the building infrastructure 70 of FIG.4, but with illustrative examples of digital data services and digitalclient devices that can be provided to client devices in addition to RFcommunication services in the distributed antenna system 90. Asillustrated in FIG. 5, exemplary digital data services include WLAN 106,femtocells 108, gateways 110, baseband units (BBU) 112, remote radioheads (RRH) 114, and servers 116.

With reference back to FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the downlink anduplink electrical medium 102D, 102U are provided in a cable 104, whichis interfaced to the ICU 85. The cable 104 may be an array cable or ahome-run cable, as non-limiting examples. The ICU 85 is optional andprovides a common point in this embodiment in which the downlink anduplink electrical medium 102D, 102U carrying electrical digital signalscan be bundled with the downlink and uplink optical fibers 16U, 16Dcarrying RF optical signals, if desired. Alternatively, the cable 104may not be bundled with or carry the downlink and uplink optical fibers16U, 16D. One or more of the cables 104 can be provided containing thedownlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U for RF communicationservices and the downlink and uplink electrical medium 102D, 102U fordigital data services to be routed and provided to the RAUs 14. Anycombination of services or types of optical fibers can be provided inthe cable 104. For example, the cable 104 may include single mode and/ormulti-mode optical fibers for RF communication services and/or digitaldata services.

Examples of ICUs that may be provided in the distributed antenna system90 to distribute both downlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U for RFcommunication services and the downlink and uplink electrical medium102D, 102U for digital data services are described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/466,514 filed on May 15, 2009 and entitled“Power Distribution Devices, Systems, and Methods For Radio-Over-Fiber(RoF) Distributed Communication,” and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/330,385, filed on May 2, 2010 and entitled “PowerDistribution in Optical Fiber-based Distributed Communication SystemsProviding Digital Data and Radio-Frequency (RF) Communication Services,and Related Components and Methods,” both of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4, some RAUs 14 can be connected toaccess units (AUs) 118 which may be access points (APs) or other devicessupporting digital data services. The AUs 118 can also be connecteddirectly to the HEE 12. AUs 118 are illustrated, but the AUs 118 couldbe any other device supporting digital data services. In the example ofAUs, the AUs 118 provide access to the digital data services provided bythe DDS switch 96. This is because the downlink and uplink electricalmedium 102D, 102U carrying downlink and uplink electrical digitalsignals 100D, 100U from the DDS switch 96 and DDS controller 94 areprovided to the AUs 118 via the cables 104 and the RAUs 14. Digital dataclient devices can access the AUs 118 to access digital data servicesprovided through the DDS switch 96. An AU 118 may be considered anothertype of remote communications unit and may or may not include an antennafor wireless communications. If configured with an antenna, the AU 118may be considered another type of remote antenna unit.

Remote communications devices, such as RAUs, AUs, and client devicescoupled to same may require power to operate and to provide RF and/ordigital data services. By providing digital data services over anelectrical medium as part of a distributed antenna system, theelectrical medium can also be used to distribute power to these remotecommunications devices. This may be a convenient method of providingpower to remote digital data service clients as opposed to providingseparate power sources locally at the remote clients or a separatemedium for distributing power.

For example, power distributed to the RAUs 14 in FIG. 4, such as by orthrough the ICU 85 as an example, can also be used to provide power tothe AUs 118 located at the RAUs 14 in the distributed antenna system 90.In this regard, the optional ICUs 85 may be configured to provide powerfor both the RAUs 14 and the AUs 118. A power supply may be locatedwithin the ICU 85, but could also be located outside of the ICU 85 andprovided over an electrical power line 120, as illustrated in FIG. 4. Asdiscussed in more detail below, the ICU 85 in this embodiment may beconfigured to distribute power on the same electrical medium as is usedto distribute digital data services, for example, the downlinkelectrical medium 102D in FIG. 4. The ICU 85 may receive eitheralternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power. The ICU 85 mayreceive 110 Volts (V) to 240V AC or DC power. The ICU 85 can beconfigured to produce any voltage and power level desired. The powerlevel is based on the number of RAUs 14 and the expected loads to besupported by the RAUs 14 and any digital devices connected to the RAUs14 in FIG. 4. It may further be desired to provide additional powermanagement features in the ICU 85. For example, one or more voltageprotection circuits may be provided.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of exemplary internal components in theRAU 14 of FIG. 4 to further illustrate how the downlink and uplinkoptical fibers 16D, 16U for RF communications, the downlink and uplinkelectrical medium 102D, 102U for digital data services, and electricalpower can be provided to the RAU 14 and can be distributed therein. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, the cable 104 is illustrated that contains thedownlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U for RF communications, andthe downlink and uplink electrical medium 102D, 102U for digital dataservices. As will be discussed in more detail below with regard to FIGS.7 and 8, electrical power is also carried over the downlink and uplinkelectrical medium 102D, 102U from the ICU 85 or other component toprovide power to the power-consuming components in the RAU 14. The powermay be provided over the downlink and uplink electrical medium 102D,102U at the ICU 85 or from another power supply or source at anotherlocation or component in the distributed antenna system 90. For example,the power supply used to provide power to the RAU 14 may be provided atthe DDS controller 94 or DDS switch 96 in FIG. 4, as examples.

The downlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U for RF communications,and the downlink and uplink electrical medium 102D, 102U for digitaldata services come into a housing 124 of the RAU 14. The downlink anduplink optical fibers 16D, 16U for RF communications are routed to theO/E converter 30 and E/O converter 34, respectively, and to the antenna32, as also illustrated in FIG. 2 and previously discussed. The downlinkand uplink electrical medium 102D, 102U for digital data services arerouted to a digital data services interface 126 provided as part of theRAU 14 to provide access to digital data services via a port 128, whichwill be described in more detail below. The electrical power carriedover the downlink and uplink electrical medium 102D, 102U provides powerto the O/E converter 30 and E/O converter 34 and to the digital dataservices interface 126. In this regard, the downlink electrical medium102D is coupled to a voltage controller 130 that regulates and providesthe correct voltage to the O/E converter 30 and E/O converter 34 and tothe digital data services interface 126 and other circuitry in the RAU14.

In this embodiment, the digital data services interface 126 isconfigured to distribute the downlink electrical digital signals 100D onthe downlink electrical medium 102D such that downlink electricaldigital signals 132D can be accessed via the port 128. The digital dataservices interface 126 is also configured to distribute uplinkelectrical digital signals 132U received through the port 128 intouplink electrical digital signals 100U to be provided back to the DDS 94(see FIG. 4). In this regard, a DDS controller 134 may be provided inthe digital data services interface 126 to provide these distributionsand control. The DDS controller 134 distributes the downlink electricaldigital signals 100D on the downlink electrical medium 102D intodownlink electrical digital signals 132D. Any signal processing of thedownlink electrical digital signals 100D may be provided in a signalprocessor 136 before being distributed to the port 128. The DDScontroller 134 also distributes the uplink electrical digital signals132U received through the port 128 into uplink electrical digitalsignals 100U to be provided back to the DDS controller 94. Any signalprocessing of the uplink electrical digital signals communicated fromdigital clients connected to the port 128 may be provided in an optionalsignal processor 138 before being distributed on the downlink electricalmedium 102D. In this regard, power from the downlink electrical medium102D, via the voltage controller 130, provides power to anypower-consuming components of the DDS controller 134.

Because electrical power is provided to the RAU 14 and the digital dataservices interface 126, this also provides an opportunity to providepower for digital devices connected to the RAU 14 via the port 128. Inthis regard, an optional power interface 140 is also provided in thedigital data services interface 126 in this embodiment, as alsoillustrated in FIG. 6. The power interface 140 can be configured toreceive power from the downlink electrical medium 102D, via the voltagecontroller 130, and to also make power accessible through the port 128.In this manner, if a client device contains a compatible connector toconnect to the port 128, not only will digital data services beaccessible, but power from the electrical power line 58 can also beaccessed through the same port 128. Alternatively, the power interface140 could be coupled to a separate port from the port 128 for digitaldata services.

For example, if the digital data services are provided over Ethernet,the power interface 140 could be provided as a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)interface. The port 128 could be configured to receive an RJ-45 Ethernetconnector compatible with PoE or PoE+ as an example. In this manner, anEthernet connector connected into the port 128 would be able to accessboth Ethernet digital data services to and from the downlink and uplinkelectrical medium 102D, 102U to the DDS controller 94 as well as accesspower distributed by the ICU 85 over the cable 104 provided by thedownlink electrical medium 102D.

Further, the HEE 12 could include low level control and management ofthe DDS controller 134 using communication supported by the HEE 12. Forexample, the DDS controller 134 could report functionality data (e.g.,power on, reception of optical digital data, etc.) to the HEE 12 overthe uplink optical fiber 16U that carries RF communication services asan example. The RAU 14 may include a microprocessor that communicateswith the DDS controller 134 to receive this data and communicate thisdata over the uplink optical fiber 16U to the HEE 12.

Instead of providing a separate power line between the ICU 85 (or otherdevice or other power supply) to the RAUs 14 and/or AUs 118, asdiscussed above, the electrical power supplied to the RAUs 14 and/or AUs118 may be provided over the electrical medium 102D and/or 102U that isused to communicate the electrical digital signals 100D, 100U. The powersupplied to the RAU 14 and AUs 118 can be used to provide power topower-consuming components used for RF communication services. The powersupplied to the RAUs 14 and/or AUs 118 over the electrical medium 102Dand/or 102U may also be used to power remote clients, such as PoE andPoE+ compliant devices as an example (also known as power sourcingequipment (PSE)), connected to the port 128 of the RAU 14 or AU 118 (seeFIG. 6). In this manner, the RAUs 14 and/or AUs 118 may not require alocal power source for power-consuming components provided within thesedevices and/or remote clients coupled to and receiving power from theRAUs 14 and/or AUs 118.

In this regard, the power provided to the RAUs 14 and/or AUs 118 may beadded as direct current (DC) on the same medium, media, or linescarrying the electrical digital signals 100D, 100U (alternating current(AC) signals). Alternatively, the power may be provided over separatemedium, media, or lines, such as separate twisted pair as an example,that do not carry the electrical digital signal 100D and/or 100U. Eachof these scenarios may depend on the specific configuration of theelectrical medium 102D, 102U and the standards and/or data ratesconfigured or provided on the electrical medium 102D, 102U.

In this regard, FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of electrical medium102D, 102U to provide both electrical digital signals 100D, 100U and toprovide power to the RAUs 14 and/or APs 118. In this embodiment asdiscussed in more detail below, the electrical medium 102D, 102U is anEthernet cable 142, particularly a CAT5/CAT6/CAT7 cable in this example.As illustrated in FIG. 7, the Ethernet cable 142 in this embodiment iscontained within the cable 104 with the downlink and uplink opticalfiber 16D, 16U. As previously discussed, the Ethernet cable 142 willcarry electrical digital signals 100D, 100U for digital data services.The downlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U will carry optical RFsignals 22D, 22U for RF communication services. If the Ethernet cable142 is configured for use with data rates of either 10 BASE T (10 Mbps),100 BASE T (100 Mps), 1 Gps, or 10 Gps, at the DDS switch 96 (FIG. 4) asan example, pairs 1 and 2, and 3 and 6 carry electrical digital signals100D, 100U as shown in FIG. 7. The other two pairs of the Ethernet cable142, pairs 4 and 5, and 7 and 8 are unused electrical medium 143, 144and are available for carrying power over electrical medium 143, 144separately from the electrical digital signals 100D, 100U. This powercan be provided on the unused electrical medium 143, 144 by the DDSswitch 96, the DDS controller 94, the ICU 85, or at any other device orlocation that has access to power and/or a power supply.

Alternatively, as another example with continuing reference to FIG. 7,if the Ethernet cable 142 is configured for use with a data rate of 1000BASE T (1 Gbps) at the DDS switch 96 (FIG. 4), all pairs are configuredto carry electrical digital signals 100D, 100U. Power configured to beprovided on the electrical medium 102D, 102U may be controlled accordingto the standard employed, for example, PoE according to IEEE802.3af-2003 and PoE+ according to IEEE 802.3af-2003. Power can added totwo (2) pairs of the twisted pairs (e.g., 1, 2, 3, and 6, or 4, 5, 7,and 8), or all pairs (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 6, 4, 5, 7, and 8) which carry theelectrical digital signals 100D, 100U, such as for PoE compliance, as anexample, as opposed to being provided separately from the electricaldigital signals 100D, 100U. Providing power over only twisted pairs 1and 2, and 3 and 6 is called “Mode A.” Providing power over twistedpairs 4 and 5, and 7 and 8 is called “Mode B.” IEEE802.3af-2003 mayprovide power using either Mode A or Mode B. IEEE802.at-2009 may providepower using Mode A, Mode B, or Mode A and Mode B concurrently. However,it may be unknown to equipment in the distributed antenna system 90which pair combinations of the twisted pairs carry power. It may bepreferable that this configuration be transparent to the distributedantenna system 90 to avoid configuration issues. Further, it may also bedesired to provide additional power over the electrical medium 102D,102U for RF communication services components, such as converters. But,not knowing which pairs of the twisted pairs of the Ethernet cable 142that carry power for PoE complaint devices is problematic. This isbecause it will not be known which of the pairs are available forproviding separate power from a separate power source on the RFcommunication services.

In order to also have the ability to provide power from the ICU 85 orother power source over the electrical medium 102D, 102U to the RFcommunication service components in the RAUs 14 and/or AUs 118, powerprovided on the electrical medium 102D, 102U for powering digital clientdevices connected to the port 128 (e.g., PoE) is directed to beexclusively carried by the same two pairs of twisted pairs of theEthernet cable 142, as illustrated in FIG. 8. In this manner, the othertwo pairs of twisted pairs of the Ethernet cable 142 are available tocarry power for the RF communication services power-consumingcomponents. Otherwise, it may not be possible to provide sufficientpower for the RF communication services and digital data clientsconnected to the port 128 if power for both is placed on only one (1)pair of the twisted pairs of electrical medium 102D, 102U. For example,it may be desired to provide thirty (30) Watts (W) of power to the port128 and sixty (60) W of power to the RAU 14 and/or AU 118 for componentsused to provide RF communication services. It may not be possible toprovide ninety (90) W of power on only one (1) pair of the twisted pairsof electrical medium 102D, 102U.

Turning to FIG. 8, the electrical medium 102D, 102U (sometimes referredto herein as electrical input links) are provided as coming from the DDScontroller 94 (FIG. 4). The electrical medium 102D, 102U carried to theRAUs 14 and/or AUs 118 to provide digital data services via electricaldigital signals 100D, 100U as previously described, and may optionallyalso have power signals conveyed thereon. Digital data services clientscan be connected to the port 128 as illustrated in FIG. 8 to receivedigital data services. Also, digital data services clients can receivedigital data services wirelessly, as previously discussed. The digitaldata services provided via the electrical digital signals 100D, 100U areprovided to the RAU 14 and/or AU 118 transparent of any power signalscarried on the electrical medium 102D, 102U.

With continuing reference to FIG. 8, circuitry, and in particular, diodebridge circuits 145 are provided in the ICU 85 in this embodiment, whichare coupled to each of the twisted pairs of the electrical medium 102D,102U as illustrated in FIG. 8. The diode bridge circuits 145 compensatefor polarity shifts in power placed on any of the twisted pairs of theelectrical medium 102D, 102U from the DDS controller 94, and direct suchpower exclusively to a lower two pair 146 of the electrical medium 102D,102U. In this regard, the lower two pairs 146 form an electrical poweroutput, in this case, outputs for the ICU 85. Thus, the diode bridgecircuits 145 couple the electrical input link of the electrical medium102D, 102U to at least one electrical power output in the form of one ortwo of the lower two pairs 146. Polarity may be undefined and thus areceiver may need to be able to accept the polarity in either mode. Inthis manner, upper two pairs 147 of the electrical medium 102D, 102U donot carry power from the DDS controller 94. In this regard, the uppertwo pairs 147 form electrical communications outputs, in this case,outputs for the ICU 85, and are configured to distribute the digitaldata signals to the RAU 14, and in particular to a communicationsinterface of the RAU 14. The upper two pairs 147 of the electricalmedium 102D, 102U are available to carry additional power, if desired,from a separate power source 148 to be directed onto the upper two pairs147 of the electrical medium 102D, 102U. This additional power can beused to provide power for RF power-consuming components in the RAU 14and/or AU 118. A power tap 149 may be provided in the RAU 14 and/or AU118 to tap power from the upper twisted pairs 147 of the electricalmedium 102D, 102U for providing power to the RF communication servicescomponents, while power can be separately provided over the lowertwisted pairs 146 of the electrical medium 102D, 102U to the port 128for digital data clients to be powered.

Other configurations are possible to provide digital data services anddistribute power for same in a distributed antenna system. For example,FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment ofproviding digital data services in a distributed antenna system alsoconfigured to provide RF communication services. In this regard, FIG. 9provides a distributed antenna system 150. The distributed antennasystem 150 may be similar to and include common components provided inthe distributed antenna system 90 in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, insteadof the DDS controller 94 being provided separate from the HEE 12, theDDS controller 94 is co-located with the HEE 12. The downlink and uplinkelectrical medium 102D, 102U for distributing digital data services fromthe DDS switch 96 are also connected to the patch panel 92. The downlinkand uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U for RF communications and thedownlink and uplink electrical medium 102D, 102U for digital dataservices are then routed to the ICU 85, similar to FIG. 2.

The downlink and uplink optical fibers 16D, 16U for RF communications,and the downlink and uplink electrical medium 102D, 102U for digitaldata services, may be provided in a common cable, such as the cable 104,or provided in separate cables. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 9,standalone access units (AUs) 118 may be provided separately from theRAUs 14 in lieu of being integrated with the RAUs 14, as illustrated inFIG. 4. The standalone AUs 118 can be configured to contain the DDScontroller 134 in FIG. 6. The AUs 118 may also each include antennas 152(also shown in FIG. 4) to provide wireless digital data services in lieuof or in addition to wired services through the port 128 through theRAUs 14.

The distributed antenna systems disclosed and contemplated herein arenot limited to any particular type of distributed antenna system orparticular equipment. For example, FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram ofexemplary HEE 158 that may be employed with any of the distributedantenna systems disclosed herein, including but not limited to thedistributed antenna systems 10, 90, 150. The HEE 158 in this embodimentis configured to distribute RF communication services over opticalfiber. In this embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 10, the HEE 158includes a head-end controller (HEC) 160 that manages the functions ofthe HEE 158 components and communicates with external devices viainterfaces, such as an RS-232 port 162, a Universal Serial Bus (USB)port 164, and an Ethernet port 168, as examples. The HEE 158 can beconnected to a plurality of BTSs, transceivers, and the like via BTSinputs 170 and BTS outputs 172. The BTS inputs 170 are downlinkconnections and the BTS outputs 172 are uplink connections. Each BTSinput 170 is connected to a downlink BTS interface card (BIC) 174located in the HEE 158, and each BTS output 172 is connected to anuplink BIC 176 also located in the HEE 158. The downlink BIC 174 isconfigured to receive incoming or downlink RF signals from the BTSinputs 170 and split the downlink RF signals into copies to becommunicated to the RAUs 14, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The uplink BIC176 is configured to receive the combined outgoing or uplink RF signalsfrom the RAUs 14 and split the uplink RF signals into individual BTSinputs 172 as a return communication path.

With continuing reference to FIG. 10, the downlink BIC 174 is connectedto a midplane interface card 178 panel in this embodiment. The uplinkBIC 176 is also connected to the midplane interface card 178. Thedownlink BIC 174 and uplink BIC 176 can be provided in printed circuitboards (PCBs) that include connectors that can plug directly into themidplane interface card 178. The midplane interface card 178 is inelectrical communication with a plurality of optical interface cards(OICs) 180, which provide an optical to electrical communicationinterface and vice versa between the RAUs 14 via the downlink and uplinkoptical fibers 16D, 16U and the downlink BIC 174 and uplink BIC 176. TheOICs 180 include the E/O converter 28 like discussed with regard to FIG.1 that converts electrical RF signals from the downlink BIC 174 tooptical RF signals, which are then communicated over the downlinkoptical fibers 16D to the RAUs 14 and then to client devices. The OICs180 also include the O/E converter 36 like in FIG. 1 that convertsoptical RF signals communicated from the RAUs 14 over the uplink opticalfibers 16U to the HEE 158 and then to the BTS outputs 172.

With continuing reference to FIG. 10, the OICs 180 in this embodimentsupport up to three (3) RAUs 14 each. The OICs 180 can also be providedin a PCB that includes a connector that can plug directly into themidplane interface card 178 to couple the links in the OICs 180 to themidplane interface card 178. The OICs 180 may consist of one or multipleoptical interface cards (OICs). In this manner, the HEE 158 is scalableto support up to thirty-six (36) RAUs 14 in this embodiment since theHEE 158 can support up to twelve (12) OICs 180. If less than thirty-six(36) RAUs 14 are to be supported by the HEE 158, less than twelve (12)OICs 180 can be included in the HEE 158 and plugged into the midplaneinterface card 178. One OIC 180 is provided for every three (3) RAUs 14supported by the HEE 158 in this embodiment. OICs 180 can also be addedto the HEE 158 and connected to the midplane interface card 178 ifadditional RAUs 14 are desired to be supported beyond an initialconfiguration. With continuing reference to FIG. 10, the HEU 160 canalso be provided that is configured to be able to communicate with thedownlink BIC 174, the uplink BIC 176, and the OICs 180 to providevarious functions, including configurations of amplifiers andattenuators provided therein.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary distributed antennasystem 200 that may be employed according to the embodiments disclosedherein to provide RF communication services and digital data services.In this embodiment, the distributed antenna system 200 includes opticalfiber for distributing RF communication services. The distributedantenna system 200 also includes an electrical medium for distributingdigital data services.

With continuing reference to FIG. 11, the distributed antenna system 200in this embodiment is comprised of three (3) main components. One ormore radio interfaces provided in the form of radio interface modules(RIMs) 202(1)-202(M) in this embodiment are provided in HEE 204 toreceive and process downlink electrical RF communication signals206D(1)-206D(R) prior to optical conversion into downlink optical RFcommunication signals. The processing of the downlink electrical RFcommunication signals 206D(1)-206D(R) can include any of the processingpreviously described above in the HEE 12 in FIGS. 1-3. The notations“1-R” and “1-M” indicate that any number of the referenced component,1-R and 1-M, respectively, may be provided. As will be described in moredetail below, the HEE 204 is configured to accept a plurality of RIMs202(1)-202(M) as modular components that can easily be installed andremoved or replaced in the HEE 204. In one embodiment, the HEE 204 isconfigured to support up to four (4) RIMs 202(1)-202(M) as an example.

Each RIM 202(1)-202(M) can be designed to support a particular type ofradio source or range of radio sources (i.e., frequencies) to provideflexibility in configuring the HEE 204 and the distributed antennasystem 200 to support the desired radio sources. For example, one RIM202 may be configured to support the Personal Communication Services(PCS) radio band. Another RIM 202 may be configured to support the 700MHz radio band. In this example, by inclusion of these RIMs 202, the HEE204 would be configured to support and distribute RF communicationsignals on both PCS and LTE 700 radio bands. RIMs 202 may be provided inHEE 204 that support any frequency bands desired, including but notlimited to the US Cellular band, Personal Communication Services (PCS)band, Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) band, 700 MHz band, Global Systemfor Mobile communications (GSM) 900, GSM 1800, and Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). RIMs 202 may be provided in HEE 204that support any wireless technologies desired, including but notlimited to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), CDMA200, 1×RTT,Evolution-Data Only (EV-DO), UMTS, High-speed Packet Access (HSPA), GSM,General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment(EDGE), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE),iDEN, and Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD).

RIMs 202 may be provided in HEE 204 that support any frequenciesdesired, including but not limited to US FCC and Industry Canadafrequencies (824-849 MHz on uplink and 869-894 MHz on downlink), US FCCand Industry Canada frequencies (1850-1915 MHz on uplink and 1930-1995MHz on downlink), US FCC and Industry Canada frequencies (1710-1755 MHzon uplink and 2110-2155 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (698-716MHz and 776-787 MHz on uplink and 728-746 MHz on downlink), EU R & TTEfrequencies (880-915 MHz on uplink and 925-960 MHz on downlink), EU R &TTE frequencies (1710-1785 MHz on uplink and 1805-1880 MHz on downlink),EU R & TTE frequencies (1920-1980 MHz on uplink and 2110-2170 MHz ondownlink), US FCC frequencies (806-824 MHz on uplink and 851-869 MHz ondownlink), US FCC frequencies (896-901 MHz on uplink and 929-941 MHz ondownlink), US FCC frequencies (793-805 MHz on uplink and 763-775 MHz ondownlink), and US FCC frequencies (2495-2690 MHz on uplink anddownlink).

The downlink electrical RF communication signals 206D(1)-206D(R) areprovided to a plurality of optical interfaces provided in the form ofoptical interface modules (OIMs) 208(1)-208(N) in this embodiment toconvert the downlink electrical RF communication signals 206D(1)-206D(N)into downlink optical RF signals 210D(1)-210D(R). The notation “1-N”indicates that any number of the referenced component 1-N may beprovided. The OIMs 208 may be configured to provide one or more opticalinterface components (OICs) that contain O/E and E/O converters, as willbe described in more detail below. The OIMs 208 support the radio bandsthat can be provided by the RIMs 202, including the examples previouslydescribed above. Thus, in this embodiment, the OIMs 208 may support aradio band range from 400 MHz to 2700 MHz, as an example, so providingdifferent types or models of OIMs 208 for narrower radio bands tosupport possibilities for different radio band-supported RIMs 202provided in HEE 204 is not required. Further, as an example, the OIMs208 may be optimized for sub-bands within the 400 MHz to 2700 MHzfrequency range, such as 400-700 MHz, 700 MHz-1 GHz, 1 GHz-1.6 GHz, and1.6 GHz-2.7 GHz, as examples.

The OIMs 208(1)-208(N) each include E/O converters to convert thedownlink electrical RF communication signals 206D(1)-206D(R) to downlinkoptical RF signals 210D(1)-210D(R). The downlink optical RF signals210D(1)-210D(R) are communicated over downlink optical fiber(s) 213D toa plurality of RAUs 212(1)-212(P). The notation “1-P” indicates that anynumber of the referenced component 1-P may be provided. O/E convertersprovided in the RAUs 212(1)-212(P) convert the downlink optical RFsignals 210D(1)-210D(R) back into downlink electrical RF communicationsignals 206D(1)-206D(R), which are provided over downlinks 214(1)-214(P)coupled to antennas 216(1)-216(P) in the RAUs 212(1)-212(P) to clientdevices in the reception range of the antennas 216(1)-216(P).

E/O converters are also provided in the RAUs 212(1)-212(P) to convertuplink electrical RF communication signals 206U(1)-206U(R) received fromclient devices through the antennas 216(1)-216(P) into uplink optical RFsignals 210U(1)-210U(R) to be communicated over uplink optical fibers213U to the OIMs 208(1)-208(N). The OIMs 208(1)-208(N) include O/Econverters that convert the uplink optical signals 210U(1)-210U(R) intouplink electrical RF communication signals 220U(1)-220U(R) that areprocessed by the RIMs 202(1)-202(M) and provided as uplink electrical RFcommunication signals 222U(1)-222U(R). Downlink electrical digitalsignals 223D(1)-223D(P) communicated over downlink electrical medium225D(1)-225D(P) are provided to the RAUs 212(1)-212(P), such as from aDDS controller and/or DDS switch as provided by example in FIG. 4,separately from the RF communication services, as well as uplinkelectrical digital signals 223U(1)-223U(P) communicated over uplinkelectrical medium 225U(1)-225U(P), as also illustrated in FIG. 12.Common elements between FIG. 12 and FIG. 4 are illustrated in FIG. 12with common element numbers. Power may be provided in the downlinkand/or uplink electrical medium 225D(1)-225D(P) and/or 225U(1)-225U(P)is provided to the RAUs 212(1)-212(P).

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of providing digital data services and RFcommunication services to RAUs and/or other remote communications unitsin the distributed antenna system 200 of FIG. 11. Common componentsbetween FIGS. 11 and 12 and other figures provided have the same elementnumbers and thus will not be re-described. As illustrated in FIG. 12, apower supply module (PSM) 230 may be provided to provide power to theRIMs 202(1)-222(M) and radio distribution cards (RDCs) 232 thatdistribute the RF communications from the RIMs 202(1)-202(M) to the OIMs208(1)-208(N) through RDCs 234. A PSM 236 may be provided to providepower to the OIMs 208(1)-208(N). An interface 240, which may include weband network management system (NMC) interfaces, may also be provided toallow configuration and communication to the RIMs 202(1)-202(M) andother components of the distributed antenna system 200.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram representation of an exemplary electronicdevice 250 in the exemplary form of an exemplary computer system 252adapted to execute instructions from an exemplary computer-readablemedium to perform power management functions. The electronic device 250may be included in the HEE, a DDS controller, an RAU, or an AU, butcould be any other module or device provided in the distributed antennasystems described herein. In this regard, the electronic device 250 maycomprise the computer system 252 within which a set of instructions forcausing the electronic device 250 to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein may be executed. The electronic device250 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a LAN, anintranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The electronic device 250 mayoperate in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine ina peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. While only a singledevice is illustrated, the term “device” shall also be taken to includeany collection of devices that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein. The electronic device 250 may be acircuit or circuits included in an electronic board card, such as aprinted circuit board (PCB) as an example, a server, a personalcomputer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a computing pad, a mobile device, or any other device,and may represent, for example, a server or a user's computer.

The exemplary computer system 252 includes a processing device orprocessor 254, a main memory 256 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flashmemory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM(SDRAM), etc.), and a static memory 258 (e.g., flash memory, staticrandom access memory (SRAM), etc.), which may communicate with eachother via a bus 260. Alternatively, the processing device 254 may beconnected to the main memory 256 and/or static memory 258 directly orvia some other connectivity means. The processing device 254 may be acontroller, and the main memory 256 or static memory 258 may be any typeof memory, each of which can be included in HEE 12, 158, the DDScontroller 94, RAUs 14, and/or AUs 118.

The processing device 254 represents one or more general-purposeprocessing devices such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, orthe like. More particularly, the processing device 254 may be a complexinstruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instructionset computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW)microprocessor, a processor implementing other instruction sets, orprocessors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Theprocessing device 254 is configured to execute processing logic ininstructions 261 for performing the operations and steps discussedherein.

The computer system 252 may further include a network interface device262. The computer system 252 also may or may not include an input 264 toreceive input and selections to be communicated to the computer system252 when executing instructions. The computer system 252 also may or maynot include an output 266, including but not limited to a display, avideo display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathoderay tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), and/ora cursor control device (e.g., a mouse).

The computer system 252 may or may not include a data storage devicethat includes instructions 268 stored in a computer-readable medium 270embodying any one or more of the RAU power management methodologies orfunctions described herein. The instructions 268 may also reside,completely or at least partially, within the main memory 256 and/orwithin the processing device 254 during execution thereof by thecomputer system 252, the main memory 256 and the processing device 254also constituting computer-readable media. The instructions 258 mayfurther be transmitted or received over a network 272 via the networkinterface device 262.

While the computer-readable medium 270 is shown in an exemplaryembodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructionsfor execution by the processing device and that cause the processingdevice to perform any one or more of the methodologies of theembodiments disclosed herein. The term “computer-readable medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-statememories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wave signals.

The embodiments disclosed herein include various steps. The steps of theembodiments disclosed herein may be performed by hardware components ormay be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used tocause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with theinstructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may beperformed by a combination of hardware and software.

The embodiments disclosed herein may be provided as a computer programproduct, or software, that may include a machine-readable medium (orcomputer-readable medium) having stored thereon instructions, which maybe used to program a computer system (or other electronic devices) toperform a process according to the embodiments disclosed herein. Amachine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes amachine-readable storage medium (e.g., read only memory (“ROM”), randomaccess memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage media, optical storagemedia, flash memory devices, etc.), a machine-readable transmissionmedium (electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagatedsignals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.)),etc.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the previousdiscussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description,discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,”“determining,” “displaying,” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission, or display devices.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various systems may beused with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it mayprove convenient to construct more specialized apparatuses to performthe required method steps. The required structure for a variety of thesesystems will appear from the description above. In addition, theembodiments described herein are not described with reference to anyparticular programming language. It will be appreciated that a varietyof programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of theembodiments as described herein.

Those of skill in the art would further appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithms describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedas electronic hardware, instructions stored in memory or in anothercomputer-readable medium and executed by a processor or other processingdevice, or combinations of both. The components of the distributedantenna systems described herein may be employed in any circuit,hardware component, integrated circuit (IC), or IC chip, as examples.Memory disclosed herein may be any type and size of memory and may beconfigured to store any type of information desired. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability, various illustrative components,blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generallyin terms of their functionality. How such functionality is implementeddepends upon the particular application, design choices, and/or designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentembodiments.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedor performed with a processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field ProgrammableGate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A controllermay be a processor. A processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in hardware and ininstructions that are stored in hardware, and may reside, for example,in Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read Only Memory (ROM),Electrically Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically ErasableProgrammable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readable medium known in the art.An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that theprocessor can read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. The ASIC may reside in a remote station. In the alternative, theprocessor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in aremote station, base station, or server.

It is also noted that the operational steps described in any of theexemplary embodiments herein are described to provide examples anddiscussion. The operations described may be performed in numerousdifferent sequences other than the illustrated sequences. Furthermore,operations described in a single operational step may actually beperformed in a number of different steps. Additionally, one or moreoperational steps discussed in the exemplary embodiments may becombined. It is to be understood that the operational steps illustratedin the flow chart diagrams may be subject to numerous differentmodifications as will be readily apparent to one of skill in the art.Those of skill in the art would also understand that information andsignals may be represented using any of a variety of differenttechnologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands,information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referencedthroughout the above description may be represented by voltages,currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, opticalfields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Further, as used herein, it is intended that terms “fiber optic cables”and/or “optical fibers” include all types of single mode and multi-modelight waveguides, including one or more optical fibers that may beupcoated, colored, buffered, ribbonized and/or have other organizing orprotective structure in a cable such as one or more tubes, strengthmembers, jackets or the like. The optical fibers disclosed herein can besingle mode or multi-mode optical fibers. Likewise, other types ofsuitable optical fibers include bend-insensitive optical fibers, or anyother expedient of a medium for transmitting light signals. An exampleof a bend-insensitive, or bend resistant, optical fiber is ClearCurve®Multimode fiber commercially available from Corning Incorporated.Suitable fibers of this type are disclosed, for example, in U.S. PatentApplication Publication Nos. 2008/0166094 and 2009/0169163, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the embodiments set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theembodiments pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the description and claims are not to be limited tothe specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and otherembodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appendedclaims. It is intended that the embodiments cover the modifications andvariations of the embodiments provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

We claim:
 1. A method of operating a wireless communication systemlocated in a building infrastructure, the method comprising:distributing power in the wireless communication system using a powerunit located in at least one remote unit, distributing power comprising:conveying digital data signals and power signals through a plurality ofelectrical input links comprised in an electrical input medium;distributing the digital data signals to at least one communicationsinterface through at least one electrical communications outputcomprising a plurality of electrical output links comprising an upperset of electrical output links and a lower set of electrical outputlinks; distributing the power signals to at least one power interfacethrough at least one electrical power output comprising the lower set ofelectrical output links; receiving the digital data signals from theplurality of electrical input links comprised in the electrical inputmedium; receiving the power signals from one or more electrical inputlinks of the plurality of electrical input links comprised in theelectrical input medium; providing the received digital data signalsfrom the plurality of electrical input links to the at least oneelectrical communications output; and providing the received powersignals from the one or more electrical input links exclusively to thelower set of electrical output links of the at least one electricalpower output; and distributing optical radio frequency (RF)communications signals to the at least one remote unit.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising, at the at least one remote unit,transmitting wireless RF communications signals to at least one mobiledevice located in a coverage area, and receiving wireless RFcommunications signals from the coverage area.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein distributing the optical RF communications signals comprisesdistributing the optical RF communications signals over at least oneoptical fiber.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising receivingelectrical downlink RF communications signals at head end equipment ofthe wireless communication system from at least one source.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, further comprising converting the downlink RFcommunications signals to the optical RF communications signals in atleast one optical interface module at the head end equipment beforedistributing the optical RF communications signals to the at least oneremote unit.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising coupling twopower sources to respective ones of the plurality of electrical inputlinks.
 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising distributing thedigital data signals over a common optical fiber with RF communicationservices at different wavelengths through wave-division multiplexing. 8.The method of claim 5, wherein the wireless communication systemcomprises a digital data services controller configured to exclusivelyprovide the received power signals from the one or more electrical inputlinks to the lower set of electrical output links of the at least oneelectrical power output.
 9. The method of claim 5, wherein the at leastone optical interface module comprises a plurality of optical interfacemodules, each optical interface module being optically connected to atleast two remote units.
 10. The method of claim 5, further comprisingreceiving the optical RF communications signals at at least oneinterconnect unit disposed between the head end equipment and the atleast one remote unit.
 11. The method of claim 5, wherein the head endequipment includes a plurality of radio interface modules configured toreceive downlink RF communications signals from sources.
 12. The methodof claim 5, wherein the at least one remote unit comprises at least oneoptical-to-electrical (O/E) converter configured to convert the opticalRF communications signals to electrical RF signals in the at least oneremote unit.
 13. The method of claim 3, wherein the wirelesscommunication system comprises a digital data services controllerconfigured to exclusively provide the received power signals from theone or more electrical input links to the lower set of electrical outputlinks of the at least one electrical power output.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the at least one remote unit comprises at least oneoptical-to-electrical (O/E) converter configured to convert the opticalRF communications signals to electrical RF signals in the at least oneremote unit.